5 things you need to know about WarGames 

A breeze of nostalgia blew across the wrestling multiverse as WWE announced the return of WarGames for the upcoming NXT Takeover in Houston, Texas after nearly two decades. Renamed as NXT TakeOver: WarGames, the show will feature three groups battling out for NXT's bragging rights, in a WarGames match type. These include Sanity, The Undisputed Era and the team of The Authors of Pain and Roderick Strong.

The world last witnessed a traditional WarGames contest at WCW Fallbrawl in September 1997. A lot has transpired since then, for instance, the promotion that showcased the event went out of business itself. As members of WWE universe who will be experiencing their first WarGames, here are five things you need to know about this infamous gimmick match.

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#1 Brainchild of Dusty Rhodes

Dusty Rhodes came up with the concept of WarGames

In the volatile business of professional wrestling, that has existed for more than a century, only a handful have made an impact as significant as 'The American Dream' Dusty Rhodes. Working as a wrestler cum booker for Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), Dusty was involved in a major feud with the Four Horsemen and searched for ideas to put them against his team.

While watching 'Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome', the Thunderdome inspired him to think of a cage match, covered from the top, fought over two rings, that could simultaneously accumulate two different teams of five people each. Dusty explained the idea to Klondike Bill, NWA's chief technician for ring assembly, who worked day and night to make the concept a reality.

After deciding the rules and guidelines of the match, WarGames finally made its debut at The Great American Bash on 4th July 1987. The historic contest saw the team of Dusty Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, The Road Warriors and Paul Ellering take on The Four Horsemen (Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Lex Lugar, Tully Blanchard and James J. Dillon).

#2 A proven recipe for success

WarGames have given some all-time classics

A gimmick match is a gamble more or less. Alongside the highly successful Royal Rumbles and Hell in a Cells, we've also witnessed disappointments like Arkansas Hog Pen match and the Punjabi Prison matches. However, NWA seemed to have struck gold in first place with WarGames.

With the top babyfaces coming together to take on the bad guys, WarGames was nothing short of a dream match turned into reality. Adding the steel cage would give the contest a whole new dimension. The result would be complete pandemonium - something the fans loved to experience.

Although the quality started degrading later, ones that took place between 1987 and 1992 are timeless classics. Three of them even received a five-star rating by Dave Meltzer, a record among gimmick matches.

#3 An exhibition of violence

Blood and violence are an integral part of WarGames

Take ten hard-as-nails men belonging to two warring sidess, thirsty for each other's blood, and lock them up in a steel cage enclosed from all sides. Everything goes from eye-poking to low-blows, and the only way for them to leave the place is by making their opponent submit, surrender or knock them unconscious. Being ruthless isn't just an option, it becomes a necessity.

Steel-cage matches have always been famous for their brutality. But with rules like no pinfall, no count- outs and no disqualification, WarGames takes the term 'Violence' to a whole new height. From banging skulls to the cage to peeling skin with the wire-mesh, fans get to see the most inhuman side of their favourite superstars.

With rivers of blood flowing inside the ring in a typical WarGames fight, it would we worth watching if the company compromises with it's 'No-Blood' policy to deliver an edgier experience.

#4 Decline since 1993

WarGames succeeding WrestleWar 1992 couldn't live up to the hype

As mentioned earlier, between 1987 and 1992, WarGames used to be the epitome of ringwork, storytelling and psyche. That was due to the involvement of legends like Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Barry Windham, Dusty Rhodes, Sting and many others at their prime.

Unfortunately, the subsequent WarGames failed to deliver big time. Uninspiring storylines, lack of ring-chemistry and superstars performing past their prime were some of the causes for this decline. Fall Brawl 1997 was an exception though, as a re-established Four Horsemen took on the NWO with Chris Benoit giving an exceptional performance.

One of the biggest disasters in not only WarGames' but WCW's history was Fall Brawl 1998. With yester-year WWF superstars like The Warrior, Roddy Piper, Bret Hart and Hulk Hogan participating in a lethargic contest with perplexing stipulations, the match reflected everything wrong with WCW at that point of time. Unsurprisingly, the fight was rated minus four stars by Dave Meltzer.

#5 Inspiration for various other match-types

Lethal Lockdown is TNA's very own version of WarGames

WCW's demise in 2001 brought a halt to WarGames. But its legacy was kept alive by countless match-types that were inspired by it and borrowed elements from the same.

The most notable gimmick-match inspired by WarGames was WWE's Elimination Chamber. Innovated by Triple H, Elimination Chamber was WWE's third match-type that involved a caged environment. It had elements like a cage enclosed from the top and fixed time intervals before the entry of a new participant that was reminiscent of WarGames.

The original ECW had their own version of WarGames called the Ultimate Jeopardy. Permission of weapons was the only way in which it differed from WarGames. TNA came up with a similar format called Lethal Lockdown where the cage itself was packed with weapons. Over the years, various other promotions like ROH, CZW and SMW have tried WarGames with minor modifications. But none came even remotely close to the original one.